THE case against a man accused of exposing himself to young girls in a series of incidents in Craven has collapsed because police failed to hold a prompt identity parade.

This week a caring dad whose "detective" work led to the man being arrested told of his shock at the case being dropped.

The suspect, aged 32, from Keighley, had been charged with six counts of exposing himself to young girls.

But he walked free this week after a judge threw out the case.

The father of a Steeton girl, one of the alleged victims said: "I'm completely enraged. It's beyond my comprehension how this could have happened."

He said last October his daughter, who was ten at the time, was riding her scooter with a friend on a road near her home.

They noticed a man slowly driving after them in a car, so turned into a snicket to avoid him. When they emerged out the other end the motorist was there waiting, watching them from his car.

The father's frightened daughter ran home and told him what happened. He took her out in his car to find the man and she soon spotted him and pointed him out.

He tailed the man's vehicle and got a description and a registration number, which he passed on to police that same afternoon. He said the local press had featured several instances of indecent exposure, in Craven and Keighley, all committed by a man matching the description of the person who followed his daughter.

Later in October, the North Yorkshire Victim and Witness Information Partnership contacted him to confirm a man had been charged with indecent exposure offences.

He added he was told the details he provided about the man his daughter encountered gave police the information they needed to arrest him for other crimes.

The man pleaded not guilty to the charges and his case was due to be heard at Bradford Crown Court.

However, when the child's father called the partnership for an update on the case earlier this week, he discovered it had been dropped.

He said he was told the judge refused to take it further because police had not staged an identity parade soon enough.

"This man has got off scot-free due to complete incompetence. I can't get my head round it," he said.

A spokesman for the Crown Prosecution Service said: "An identity parade was not held as part of the initial investigation, however this evidence was requested by the judge when the case was heard in Crown Court.

"Unfortunately, due to the length of time that had passed since the alleged offences were committed, it was not possible to secure a positive identification which was reliable enough to ensure a realistic prospect of conviction by a Crown Court jury.

"We sympathise with the distress caused to the victims and their families as a result of the case being discontinued and our aim is to prosecute all sexual offences robustly and effectively where possible."

Det Sgt Matt Walker of North Yorkshire Police said: "I am disappointed that the case has been discontinued at court and can understand why the families of those concerned feel that justice has not been done.

"I am currently looking into the reasons why the case could not be brought before a jury and am looking at the options available to us."